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I see now ebay is requiring that one must update account in order to sell things and get paid. They want my date of birth and last 4 digits of my SSA #. That gives me concern due to the fact it is ebay and the non personal side off the situation. Since I worked 34 years in government and know all about social security numbers and used them everyday I know of the real issues of revealing this particular number. It is not a usual spam email it is legit from ebay but I don't know. I don't sell much but it is convenient at times to sell on ebay.
My question is if anyone on the forum has been ask this and what they did. Maybe some security expert can tell some details of what they get. Myself I know that once I had your ssa number in my work. I knew everything about a person to some extent, I had to have it for government programs but naturally was complete safe with me as a government agency. In fact I was able to help those many times as I found issues with there particular ssa # and people using them, as well as the person who manage use the wrong one or transpose numbers in it. Happened all the time and the folks were grateful to know.
I don't want to do this until I hear some more information.
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05-21-2021 01:39 PM
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If you haven't gone to the Ebay website and see what they are asking for you should. I received a fishing email this morning saying that I needed to update my account info for the same things that you are describing. If it were necessary I would have a message on the Ebay website. No message there.
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what lammie said. never click on links emailed to you, go directly to ebay's page
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mine from eBay even shows on my notifications on the app I have on my phone.
Originally Posted by lammie200
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No. Nay. Never!
Always when getting any email like that I just go to the site. If they need info from you they’ll catch you at log in.
in my gazillion years on eBay I’ve never seen a request for SSN.
Spoofing address is getting too sophisticated to assume the positive.
Accentuate the negative!
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Before retiring I was involved in programs that required a high clearance. I was told to keep off of Facebook and other media sites and to avoid online use that could track me. I pointed out that all the bad guys had to do was run a credit check and they would have all the information they might want.
That being said, if Ebay wants an SS number as a term and condition, they can pound sand.
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It is legitimate. It is all about Managed Payments.
To complete your verification, we'll need to confirm your identity. If you’re a Registered Business seller, we’ll need to confirm information about your business, as well as any beneficial owners, officers, directors, or account managers.
Individual sellers (one person or a married couple) will need to provide:
- Full name
- Address
- Date of birth
- Social Security Number (SSN)
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And im the first to yell ‘go
google’ and i didnt.
Bad jazzkritter.
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The SSN is probably necessary for reporting transactions to the IRS. I haven't sold on ebay yet, and probably won't bother, although I have been thinking about it. I have stuff I don't need any longer and really should sell, but I'm basically lazy and haven't tried.
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eBay wants a bank account number along with a ss number to sell now. I also like using the service once in a while but I really can’t bring myself to doing this. That’s too much info should their system ever get hacked.I’m hoping that enough people feel the same and they will once again allow pay-pal. They have already lost a fair amount of sales due to tax collecting. How much can they stand to lose?
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Ski, pretty sure they've permanently divorced themselves from PayPal.
PayPal used to be an eBay company, so they were making $ from eBay and PayPal.
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You can get a TIN (Tax ID Number) from the Feds; I would be astounded if eBay didn't accept it as an alternative to the SSN.
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I'm always selling on eBay. Like others have already said. They need this information for the IRS. If you sell more than $600 a year they will send you a 1099 with the amount you made as extra income. I find with the new setup, I receive the $$ to my bank account within a couple days. Before it would go to your PayPal account and then you would have to transfer the funds to your bank if you wanted the money there.
What frustrates me is, everything I sell is used and was already paid for by me. However, the IRS still considers my eBay account to be a business account so they view it like I'm selling something new. If I was to sell it on Craigslist, etc. There would be no income tax involved.
As for the emails. I would always go directly to my eBay account to verify what the email was about, and not use the emails link.
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Yes I do realize this, however they are still a money transfer site. In the end the government wants to get their hands on more revenue, thus the cashless society. This is a move toward that goal. Paying tax over and over on used product. Further enforcing the division of income.
Originally Posted by wintermoon
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My long-term Dentist's office asked for my ( complete ) SS # at my last annual check-up and cleaning......It had appeared on their new check-in form, you know the one that asks for current meds etc etc etc.......I politely said no and then no again and that was that..... Originally Posted by Spook410
Could Eb be looking to track large transactions and / or does it smell like there's a potential IRS issue there somewhere ?
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I have sold many items over the years on EBay and even have a $4 credit with them. But getting my SS# and bank account information is a deal killer. Years ago, I removed my bank account information from Paypal as well (purchases go on my AMEX card, sales mean I incur a $1.50 fee and have them issue a check (And there may be very few future Internet sales for me. Craigslist, Forums and Facebook along with consignments will be my selling platforms now that EBay and Reverb are no longer acceptable to me)
The business model in the Internet age is operate at a loss until people are committed customers than raise prices to profitability. Add the government wanting a piece of the action and IMO, the thrill is gone. It was fun while it lasted.
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This, really. Originally Posted by starjasmine
It's incredibly easy.
Go here. Work through the screens. Yes, you will have the give the IRS your SSN in order to get a TIN/EIN.
The job of the EIN is to provide a substitute for your SSN which does not give people power over your financial life.
Once you get it, you won't have to give most people your SSN ever.
The thing is if you get one, that's the one. You can't go get another one. So be ready to save it and print it.
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The same applies now with e-bay in Europe. I use PayPal to keep my bank details secure in a single site, as opposed to multiplying hacking risks by placing these details on the site of every supplier I use. There is no way I am prepared to give my full bank details to e-bay, so I will no longer sell through them. They continue to accept payment from buyers via payPal but will not allow you to use a PayPal account to receive payment. Furthermore they have added a payment processing fee to replace the PayPal fee so there are no savings for the seller in their more lucrative business model. If enough people back out it might make a difference....... or not?
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For the bank account information, I keep a local bank account open, for convenience, and for use with PayPal et al. I don't keep enough money in it to hurt much if someone does gain access to it. But truly, banks have become very good at security, by virtue of necessity. Having your account number and routing info is not nearly enough to gain withdrawal access from a bank account now, especially if two-factor authentication is enabled.
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Yeah, you still get hit by the same 3% fee (above regular eBay fees). But they also process this very quickly to deposit it into your bank. As a very long time eBay seller, I find this more convenient than PayPal where you have to request the money. But that's about the only advantage to the seller. Originally Posted by Ray175
Can't remember where eBay sellers have ever made a difference in changing any significant policy changes, and there have been many many times where sellers screamed at them en masse (especially policies that generally favor buyers over sellers in disputes.) Over the years they have transformed their business towards larger sellers of commodity items and I think they really don't care about the concerns of small timers. But they are still usually the best game in town for selling things like true collectibles (excluding places that cater to higher end offerings, like Heritage.)
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Originally Posted by deacon Mark
Listed the instrument on Reverb, Craigslist and the local Facebook gear swap. Sold the same day too via Reverb.
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Darn. Now you can’t sell arch tops on eBay without the government entering the transaction. I must have sold some $60k in arch tops there until 2016. Those days are gone. And Reverb sucks too. Remember when one could have a transaction without the buyer having to pay sells tax?
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Sales tax is collected on both EBay and Reverb. The government is tracking the Internet like never before, the wild west days are coming to a close. Originally Posted by 2bornot2bop
Those of us who have been "curbstone" guitar dealers will need to return to our day jobs.
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It was good while it lasted. Speaking of the Wild West - There’s still Craigslist. Originally Posted by Stringswinger
Sales tax is collected on both EBay and Reverb. The government is tracking the Internet like never before, the wild west days are coming to a close.
Those of us who have been "curbstone" guitar dealers will need to return to our day jobs.
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Think about it. Let's say you are selling a archtop guitar. You pay seller fees, money fees, and now if it's at least a midline piece, you pay tax on income. How much do you need to get to come even close to recouping your initial cost? Musicians typically love buying and trading gear, the new "world order" will make this very difficult. The government allows all sorts of loopholes for the big money but insists on putting boot to neck on the common man. I predict Craigslist and other private seller sites will be extinct once the government does away with cash in the near future. Not a pretty prospect... Originally Posted by 2bornot2bop
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